1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of computer systems and, more specifically, to a technique for efficiently clearing meta data in a storage system when an error occurs.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer storage devices such as storage servers have high-capacity disk arrays to backup data from external host systems, such as host servers. For example, a large corporation or other enterprise may have a network of servers that each store data for a number of workstations used by individual employees. Periodically, the data on the host servers is backed up to the high-capacity storage server to avoid data loss if the host servers malfunction. A storage server may also backup data from another storage server, such as at a remote site. The storage servers are known to employ redundant systems to provide additional safeguards against data loss. The IBM Enterprise Storage Server (ESS) is an example of such a storage server.
Moreover, meta data such as server system control data is often associated with the storage resources. It is necessary to clear the meta data on occasion such as when an error occurs in the storage system. However, a performance problem can result when clearing the meta data due to the required allocation of processing and memory resources.